Second Chances
by Devil's-Smile
Summary: Zalgo has signed the execution forms for Slenderman's team, his family. The demon wisks the monsters away, seperating them and keeping them under lock and guard. Hoodie and Masky, the two proxies of Slenderman, have managed to escape this raid, and are now stuck at the "safe house", unsure of how to proced. Obviously they have to find and free their friends and mentor... But how?
1. Prolouge

_-Prologue-_

The forest was dark, but somehow the tall, thin man walking within it had no trouble finding his way. The same couldn't be said for the two young men who followed him. They continuously collided with trees and bushes in their haste to keep up with the other. Whilst the slender man did not make a single noise, the two men were loudly cursing as the hit brach after branch. Slenderman chuckled internally a this young proxies, a kind of enjoyment felt from every thump he heard.

_"Sir... Will we be arriving soon?" The older of the two, the one who had been dubbed as 'Hoodie', asked quietly. His voice seemed to echo through the empty Forest, stirring up the sleeping creatures within it. The younger of his two apprentices, who was known as 'Masky' to the silly townsfolk, stumbled alongside the other man, grasping his shoulder to keep on his feet._

_"Wary soon. Just be patient, child." The Slenderman's multilayered voice echoed through the proxies' heads, a soft static attached to the words. Both men hesitantly stumbled after their Operator, following him as they always had, and always would._

_Soon enough, that had reached a small house on the edge of the forest, not quite close enough to town for true safety. The Slenderman turned to his proxies, his arms folded behind him. "I vant you to locate a specific artifact vrom the possession of this family. The item in question is causing their child to become homicidal. You'll know it ven you see it. Return to the Mansion ven you've completed your task._

_"Yes Sir!" Both proxies set off, heading toward the cellar doors. Once they disappeared within it's confines, the Slenderman turned away, headed back toward their home, the large mansion that the others jokingly referred to as "HQ". He was halfway back to the building when he first smelt the smoke. He was shocked still for a moment as he realized that it was HIS mansion that was on fire. With an urgency he hadn't felt in a very long time, he continued toward the Mansion, swiftly moving through the trees._

_By the time he had reached the clearing, the house was in flames..._


	2. Chapter 1

_Snap._

The two proxies ran swiftly through the trees, headed deeper into the forest in their attempt to escape the angry townsfolk. The fire behind them blazed ever higher, and there could hear the cries of their friends as they were tied up and carted away by Zalgo's creatures. The crazed citizens seemed to overlook what the Rake, the Skin Walker, and the Seed Eater actually were as they handed over one after another of the proxies friends.

None of them went easy; BEN electrocuted everyone within range, and Jeff was slicing into everyone near him even now. It had taken five fully grown men to take Slenderman down, and another three to subdue Jeff. Mr. Widemouth had torn a dozen people apart before they had caught him, and Splendorman was still trying to get Sally and Sadie out of harm's way. Upon hearing Sally's cries, Masky had turned back to help, only to have a knife whirl past his head, thrown by one of their fellow killers. Jane had shouted at them to run, and so Hoodie had tugged his partner away, encouraging him to run.

And so they ran. They ran as far as they could, as fast as they could, a group of angry humans close on their heels. They eventually lost them; no one knew the Slenderman's forest better than they did. Once they were sure they were safe, the two collapsed in front of a tree, exhausted. Their breath came in harsh pants as they leaned against one another for support, sweat causing their clothes to cling to them in an uncomfortable manner.

Even from this distance, the bright blaze of the fire rose high on the horizon, and both proxies cried silently as their home burned. The sky was full of angrily swirling grey smoke, and it filled the whole forest by nightfall. As the moon rose, the last of the crowd began to disperse, allowing the fire to die in silence at last. With a shared look of defeat, the two proxies returned to the clearing in which the mansion had stood to look over it's remains.

Small patches of flames still burned across the ground, clearing away the last traces of clothing, beds, and photos. The two shifted slowly through the ashes, Masky rescuing his camera, Hoodie finding his black markers. Further in the wreckage, the two found one of Sally's nightshirts and a small game cartridge. On the opposite side of the ashes they found a scrap of polka dotted fabric and shards of a kitchen knife.

"... What do we do?" Hoodie turned towards Masky, his gloved hands shaking. Was there anything they could do? The two had never really operated without orders, without the Slenderman. They had never had to- his presence had always been assured. The younger proxy let his head hang low as he thought. Hoodie had begun to believe he wouldn't answer by the time he spoke.

"We go to the safe house. That's... That's first. After that... We'll figure it out. I won't let them get to you. I promise, Hoodie." The older boy nodded his masked face before gesturing to the ashes.

"And all of this? What do we do for this?" He swept his gloved hand across the clearing, gesturing to various half burnt objects. "Are we just going to leave everything here?"

"It'll be here when we come back for it." Masky surveyed the wreckage once more. He spotted something on the far end and started toward it, his partner following shortly behind him. He kneeled down and tugged on a strap that peeked out from beneath a blackened floorboard. With another sharp tug, the object pulled loose, and Hoodie covered his mouth with a gloved hand, pressing the fabric of his mask into his lips. The backpack in Masky's hands belonged to Eyeless Jack.

With slightly shaking hands, he passed the bag to Hoodie. "Only... Only what we can fit in here. Everything else has to stay here. We need to find our meds. We're going to need them while Slenderman's... While we aren't near him." The hooded boy nodded and took off toward the other side of the wreck. Soon, the backpack was full of small items, including a bag of lollipops, a hatchet, and a teddy bear. Their meds were the last thing to go into the bag before they took off into the trees.

The safe house wasn't a far journey, but it was so well hidden that the boys had circled it a full four times before they found the door. The safe house was underground, with it's door buried beneath a small group of bushes. Once found, it was a simple matter of using a code to unlock the military grade bunker door. The door clicked free and the two proxies disappeared into it's depths.

The lights were all motion activated, and as the two traveled through the tunnel, lights flickered to life around them. Neither of them had ever had the unluckiness to end up in the safe house before. The only ones they knew for sure had been down here were the Slenderman, his brother, and Sally. They traveled in silence, but both their thoughts ran the same path.

Soon enough, they reached the main "room", or rather the main cavern. The room was decorated in a similar fashion as the mansion had been; that is, as simple as Slenderman could make it while still providing comfort. While the safe house was originally intended for short periods of usage, it was equipped for extensive usage. There was enough tunnels and caverns leading off the main one to house the entire mansion comfortably, plus guests.

Masky and Hoodie stood in the main cavern, looking around the brightly lit cave. Both of them felt heavy, as if every bit of sorrow they had ever experienced had just crashed through their hearts all at once. Without a word between the two, they sat down on the couch, side by side.

There was another moment of quiet, but it was soon broken by Hoodie's heart wrenching sob. Masky looked his partner over as the boy pushed his mask up, covering his eyes with one of his shaky hands. With much steadier hands, Masky removed his own visage, placing it on the arm of the couch. The younger proxy wrapped his arms around Hoodie's shoulders, pulling him close as he, too, began to cry.


End file.
